Author Archives: Kelly

Mapping Brooklyn-BRIC

Unfortunately, I lost the name of the art work, but my favorite piece in the exhibit are the three videos that are hanging off the walls in the upstairs room. In each video it shows a different locations in NYC over the course of several years and the innovations in such communities. I thought it was just simply amazing that in the midst of 6 years, a vacant lot with a forest in it turned into a series of beautiful condos. In addition, I was able to see the gradual progression of the construction being done, which I thought was very interesting.

I think I gravitated toward this piece of art because all my life I lived in Park Slope. Unfortunately, due to a fire I was forced to leave the only place I called “home”. I don’t visit much because it is so far from where I currently reside, but recently I was able to walk the entire neighborhood on a stroll with my boyfriend. After my pleasant stroll, I can honestly say I barely recognized it. Over the eight years I stopped going to Park Slope, I can say maybe a handful of the places that are on the old block I used to live on, are still there from my time.

As much as I miss my old neighborhood, and walking everyday on 5th avenue, I have to admit that the innovations that have occurred in the past eight years, are amazing. To bad it wasn’t like this when I lived there.

Google Scholar

I must say that using Google scholar did help me find reliable, “professional”, articles. One problem that I faced, however, was the fact that I kept finding article that I had to pay for. Unfortunately for me, most of the article I wanted to use, I had to pay for.

What I liked most about Google scholar was the fact that I could see how many times that article was cited by other articles. By this feature I am able to distinguish whether the article s credible or not.

In addition, I would say that utilizing the advanced search option assisted me greatly. I feel that when I use the typical Google search I get a broad range of nothing and everything at the same time, if that makes sense. I receive so much information, that I don’t know where to start and it’s very time consuming. On the other hand, when I used the advanced search option, even though my resources were very refined, I was able to pull a lot of information from it.

Thank you Badke!

Research Topic Refinement

My biggest issue with coming up with a good question as my topic would be having it focused and answerable. having a good focused question allows me as a writer to keep everything organized and it’s less chaotic for me, however, it is also tricky to formulate. additionally, I need to answer my topic with three supporting arguments, which I have only found two. as a writer, I believe it is my best interest to do a little more searching on my topic so that refining my topic and coming up with three supporting arguments won’t be an issue anymore. one of my biggest struggles as a student involving writing essays, would be coming up with a topic for myself to reflect on. I have always been comfortable having a teacher provide me with a topic because I at least knew what to look for; such freedom is new to me, so coming up with my own topic was difficult.

metadata: violation or advancment?

I was never really familiar with the term metadata until we discussed it in class, and personally, I am caught in the middle of whether its an advancement or a violation of individual rights to privacy.

After reviewing the Immersion program that was created by Deepak Jagdish and Daniel Smilkov, I was flabbergasted and  appalled at the same time. I think it is amazing that within a few minutes you can have a complete breakdown of what your life is has been like since you started your email. It reminded me of the accomplishments and set backs I had in life. I could tell due to the fluctuation in emails or lack of in my review. However, giving individuals other then myself the power to access such information without my consent is crazy. Everything I have said or what sent to me is in this little folder that the programmers keep; that’s scary to me.  Even though I do think that it is remarkable how all the data I thought was lost can still be recovered, I do believe it is a violation of individuals rights.

 

Badke:Chapter 3

When reflecting back on my prior experiences utilizing search engines such as Google, I always thought it was best to be specific as possible, so that whatever results that would pop up, would be as remotely  close to my topic as it can. Unfortunately, this greatly limited my resources. I often found that the more specific I got, the fewer pieces of text I had to work with, and as a student writer, having more pieces to work with is always a pls. It opens up your horizons, and allows you to see different point of views to strengthen your writing. after using the “AND” and “OR” method, I was able to get a decent amount of research. will be using this technique from now on.

where’s the creativity?

For as long as I’ve been in school and writing papers, I have been taught that plagiarism is never a solution to brain farts. Yes, looking at other people’s work to get an idea of what you want to write or to assist in brainstorming is totally acceptable, however, copying another individuals writing word for word in any format of text should not go unpunished. When someone publishes a piece of text, the reader see’s it for what it is: a piece of text; what the reader does not see is the constant headaches, the garbage full of crumbled up thoughts, and the hard work and dedication it took for the writer to develop that piece of text. It is completely selfish of an individual to merely outright copy someone’s hard work without giving credit where it’s due.

Technology Takeover

In the video ” Laws that Choke Creativity”, the main argument that was displayed was that human beings are incapable of doing anything for themselves anymore. Technology, while one of our biggest accomplishments, is also one of man kinds greatest downfalls. Unfortunately, technology has made people lazy. People lack communication skills because everything is verbalized through text (the slang kind at that). One drawback that arises from the constant texting, is that people’s grammar skills are diminishing. Another example that proves that technology is making people lazy is that most car owners cannot walk a block without complaining. I have seen it time and time again where car owners will drive their car to the corner store. Soon enough the side walk will be replaced with same level escalators so that no body will have to walk anywhere- a great invention indeed -___-. To me it is just sad how 90% of people will just about go bonkers if their phone was disconnected as opposed to running water.  Technology in its advances may be a beautiful thing for mankind because it shows that we can do extraordinary things; but such extraordinary things are diminishing was man kind was brought up to be: social, interactive, and go getters, as opposed to just thinking everything was just going to be handed over to you.

What makes a “top story”?

After reading the article by Eland, I was given the impression that I am being deceived. When I read the newspaper or when I watch the news I never really questioned “what makes this story more important then others?”. This is how gate- keeping is brought into play in modern day society.  Broadcasters choose what story they believe is going to get more of a reaction from the people(more coverage), and those are the stories that often times end up on the front cover; however, the way that these stories  are being communicated, often times can skew ones opinion just based off how the reporter deliver’s it.  In addition, the press is constantly in competition with one another for “best coverage” and often enough there is a lot of stories that are not being communicated because the government is afraid of how society will react. In some cases those are the stories that need to be heard the most.  In my personal opinion, when reporting a story, all biases should be put to the side, and the story should be communicated where it is just simply factual. Stories that address all social status levels, are the stories that should be on the front page, as opposed to “Kim Kardashian gets Another Butt Surgery.”

Technology is Making us Lazy

In both William Badke’s, Research Strategies: Finding Your Way Through the Information Fog, and  Robert Reinhold’s New York Times article entitled,”Study Says Technology Could Transform Society”, that although there is no denying the inevitable truth that the technological advances that have been made thus far have made society as a whole more prosperous , however, technology in its entirety has made us lazy.  According to Badke, he states that even though gatekeepers of modern society are still of importance, that ” on  the WWW, gatekeepers are no longer required.”  This is a huge uprising issue in particular to students, because without experts proof reading/editing these articles, all articles are now being questioned for liability. Often times students use the standard search engines such as Google or Bing  as opposed to a scholarly data base within their school’s library.  The downfalls to these search engines are their lack of accountability. The quality of one’s writing is diminished and the potential of that student is undermined. Like wise, in Reinhold’s article, he speaks of technology basically taking over the world; which was a spot on  prediction of what modern’s society would look like. In all, old customs from buying clothes to reading a book to acquire knowledge, has been tampered with due to the advancements in technology. Now, everything we want is at the edge of our fingertips.